Snapping pictures
Before our second baby was born, I told The Husband that I planned to take as many photos of the new baby as I had of Bito. Bito, our firstborn child, has a baby book that is stuffed full of pictures and mementos. Every major milestone–and several minor ones–of his babyhood are well chronicled in pictures. It didn’t seem fair that subsequent offspring of ours would be denied the same fat baby book.
Along came Cupcake, our second baby. Remembering my vow, I continued snapping pictures and did a fairly good job of keeping up. I photographed most of the major events of Cupcake’s first year. Some of those pictures have even made their way into her baby book! The rest haven’t actually been printed yet, but I know they exist and will be there when I find the time to finish her book.
Then we had a third baby…and it was Game Over for him before I ever picked up my camera. Poor BabyMuffin. His baby book is, um…well. His baby book is non-existent. As for taking pictures? Let me just say this: it’s a good thing BabyMuffin resembles Bito as a baby so I can slip in Bito’s baby pictures into BabyMuffin’s book!
Kidding! I won’t really falsify pictures in BabyMuffin’s book, but the temptation is there. The guilt I feel at not snapping every moment of BabyMuffin’s life bothers me when I realize I’ve done exactly what I said I wasn’t going to do once upon a time.
Although I wish I have more pictures of BabyMuffin, when I think about why I haven’t picked up the camera, I can’t say I am entirely unhappy. Experiencing life from behind the lens doesn’t give me a chance to enjoy the moment for what it is. I like watching my children as they interact with one another, or as they discover something for the first time. I want to be able to continue observing without reaching for the camera and being concerned with taking Just The Right Shot.
Some day I will explain to BabyMuffin why his baby book is so much thinner than his siblings’ books, and I hope he will forgive me. I hope he will understand that I wanted to be an active participant in those pictures that were never taken.
Think he’ll buy it?
Michelle blogs at Wife and Mommy and tweets as @wifeandmommy!
and when you get to the fourth baby, you are lucky if you remember to write down when they were born!
JK! The later babies may not have all the pictures, but as parents we are more relaxed and not so neurotic. 